Tom's Guide90
A fantastic laptop with strong performance, great battery life and more base storage.
Apple MacBook Air (M5)
5 expert reviews#3 of 32 laptops
Image: Apple5/5critics
recommend
recommend
Best all-round laptop
Critics’ consensus
5 professional reviewers tested the Apple MacBook Air (M5), and 5 recommend it. Most praised: performance and battery life. Most common complaint: price.
Reviewed by Tom's Guide, WIRED, Digital Trends and 2 more
The catch: The starting price rose, and the design and display feel dated.
Critics agree
Scores run from 80 to 90All 5 scores printed by the outlets
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What do critics say about the Apple MacBook Air (M5)?
WIRED90
Still the laptop most people should buy, with powerful performance, 16GB of RAM and fast storage.
Digital Trends90
A refinement rather than reinvention, but effortless in use with excellent battery life and benchmark gains.
Trusted Reviews90
Remains the default MacBook for most people, with a great keyboard, silent running and all-day battery.
Expert Reviews80
Still fast and dependable, but a price rise and stronger competition from the Neo and Windows laptops weaken its appeal.
Scores are converted to 0–100. "est." means the outlet gave no number, so we estimated one from its verdict and checked our estimates against ratings outlets print. How we check estimates
What critics praise most
Performance4 of 5
Battery life4 of 5
What critics dislike most
Price2 of 5
Alternatives
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Common questions
Is the Apple MacBook Air (M5) worth it?
Most critics think so: 5 of 5 recommend it. The starting price rose, and the design and display feel dated.
Do critics agree about the Apple MacBook Air (M5)?
Critics agree: scores range from 80 (Expert Reviews) to 90 (Tom's Guide), a spread of 10 points across 5 reviews. Reviewers broadly agree.
What do critics dislike about the Apple MacBook Air (M5)?
Price (2 of 5 reviews).
What is the best alternative to the Apple MacBook Air (M5)?
The Apple MacBook Air (M4) (critic score 91), top pick, narrowly.